Electrical switching devices for electrical switching, such as circuit breakers, may need to survive multiple fault or short-circuit conditions, in which the electrical current through the electrical switching device may be many times larger than the device's continuous current rating (the so-called rated current). If such a fault current lasts for even a few seconds, the conductive parts of the electrical switching device may be degraded or even melt, and the electrical switching device may be destroyed, or otherwise may not continue to function as intended. This may possibly damage other components connected in the branch circuit protected by the electrical switching device. To ensure that such electrical switching devices (e.g., circuit breakers) are adequately designed for a particular handle rating, certain UL tests may be performed thereon.
Thus, certain electrical contact designs have evolved to be able to pass such UL tests and thus provide robust circuit breaker designs. However, in some instances, passing the UL tests may drive the electrical contacts to be quite expensive. Thus, electrical contact designs for electrical switching devices such as electrical circuit breakers that are adequate to pass the applicable UL testing, while also having lower cost are needed.